Winterhawks Weekly: A Week to Forget

This past week wasn't very kind to the Portland Winterhawks, as they were given dominated by Kelowna and Tuesday and Thursday, losing 9-3 and 7-2, respectively.  Friday wasn't much better, as Tri-City found their offense in a 5-1 loss, and Saturday, while in a losing effort to Victoria, was considerably better, only losing by one.

All four games were without the services of Taylor Leier, Derrick Pouliot, and Nic Petan, who finished their WJC tournament out of the medal podium after losing to Russia in the bronze medal game, and Brendan Leipsic, who served a seven game suspension.  All four are expected back this week in what promises to be a tough road trip.

Wednesday, they travel to Everett for a tilt against the Silvertips before heading to the island for two games at Victoria on Friday and Saturday before concluding the road trip at Vancouver on Sunday.  The return of those four, plus potentially gaining Matthew Dumba if Minnesota does decide to send him down, will likely make a big difference for the Winterhawks for the rest of the season.